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A former college professor was sentenced to jail on Tuesday on suspicion of starting flames near the massive Dixie fire in California.
Gary Stephen Maynard, 47, was arrested on Saturday and is currently in the Sacramento County Main Jail after being charged with “”voluntarily setting fire to wood, brush or grass on land belonging to the United States, ”states an affidavit.
Court documents show Maynard was on authorities’ radar immediately after the Cascade fire was reported and they found him stranded by the side of the road with car trouble nearby.
Another fire started the next day, and the tire tracks found were similar to those that matched Maynard’s car, Sacramento Bee reported.
Authorities began to follow the vehicle and Maynard was also said to be around when the ranch fire started.
Authorities have also started tracking her cell phone, although the data has not been released.
Maynard currently faces only one charge, but is believed to have started multiple fires.
“He entered the evacuation area and started setting fires behind first responders fighting the Dixie blaze. In addition to the danger of expanding the Dixie fire and threatening more lives and property, it has increased the danger to first responders, ”a court document said, CBS Sacramento reported.
“The Maynard fires were placed in an ideal position to increase the risk of firefighters being trapped between the fires. Without the dedication and effort of US Forest Service investigators working tirelessly to track Maynard, these fires would not have been discovered in their early stages. “
Maynard denied lighting the flames and allegedly screamed in jail “I’m going to kill you, fucking pig!” I told those crazy people that I didn’t start any of these fires! “
Maynard was previously a professor at the University of Santa Clara and Sonoma State, where he worked as a part-time lecturer in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice.
A hearing in his case has been set for Wednesday.
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